Latest Blog Posts

It can be quite difficult to engage our remote choral learners, especially since most of us have less than six months of experience in this “new normal.” This new blog post presents a simple, tangible approach that will help to engage most of your remote students. The way WE approach remote learning will have a great effect on […]

When we stand in front of choirs, we frequently stand in front of diverse groups of humans. And yes, diverse in terms of race, gender identity, gender expression, religion and much more. But, one sometimes overlooked reality is that we also stand in front of individuals with diverse VIEWPOINTS. Diverse world views, political views, philosophical […]

Today we have a Guest Blogger, my accompanist and assistant, Ben Amenta, who is also my son. He has a few ideas about how we can get through the next few months as well as prepare for the time we can all sing together. With much love, MLGA Choir Present and Future: How Choral Musicians […]

By Karen L. Bruno and Dr. Emily Williams Burch In a year during which many of us have experienced deep divisions and conflict, purposeful collaboration can be a balm that pulls us together. As teacher-conductors, many of us have spent hours on Zoom meetings and webinars sharing best practices, learning from one another, and building […]

Although he is little recognized today, the English composer Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852 – 1924) was one of the most prominent musicians in the English-speaking world at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and he had considerable influence on the work of many composers and musicians whose work is better known. […]

The December 2020 issue of Choral Journal is online and features an article titled “R. Nathaniel Dett’s The Chariot Jubilee: An Instrument for Fostering Racial Harmony” by Jason Max Ferdinand. You can read it in its entirety online at acda.org/choraljournal. Following is the introduction. You can read the full article in the December 2020 issue.___________________ The progress of […]

For many of us, Google Classroom has become our permanent classroom. Over the past few months, I’ve seen more and more ways to utilize google’s platform. As a result, I’ve decided to share 7 Simple Choir Hacks for Google Classroom that will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your choral program, not just during the pandemic, but […]

A choral musician with a “marathon mindset” would never listen to a choir and think, “well, we’re done. We’ve done all we can do.” The same is true of our lives as teachers/conductors. Welcome Dr. Emily Williams Burch BACK to the show, but this time IN my home studio. A lag free conversation in which […]

“This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.” Winston Churchill Our lives seem to be out of whack this year. Everything we do in our profession has been changed, rescheduled, revamped, reformatted, and rethought. Nothing we do is as it was, and we are struggling in ways we […]

By Patricia Guth Traveling may be the furthest thing from your mind right now. Or it may be at the forefront of your thinking. If you’re like me – an extrovert with a fantastic case of wanderlust – you’ve probably figured out that in your spare time (and there’s plenty of it) you’ve had time […]